The Final Chapter

On a plane in three weeks, probably less by the time I manage to get this sent.  Two years and eight months.  For someone who did not expect to last two weeks I consider this a worthy accomplishment.  We leave with mixed feelings, but a new grandchild due in March tips the balance of a return home.

What will I not miss?  The power and occasional water outages I expected and overall were tolerable, albeit frustrating at times.  What has been more disconcerting is the ubiquitous garbage and trash, the crazy driving, the lack of deodorant, the mosquitos and the omnipresent sand in my shoes. 

What will I miss?  The many fantastic Mozambicans we have worked with and come to know, the South African wine, the lions and giraffes, and the many great travel opportunities.  Most recently we did farewell tours to two of our favorite places: Nkomazi Game Park and Cape Town.

Nkomazi is the home of the lion den.   

The cubs have now gone out on their own and the young males are developing manes.  Fun to see how the kids have grown! 

 

 We witnessed both a day and dusk stalking of prey, at night by the young females and during the day by the two older females.  In both cases the males hung back and waited to be served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                              

We had great rhino sightings and drove into the thick of a large group, including many females with their young.  Another reminder that the law of the jungle holds and it is survival of the strong: we witnessed a fight over food. Our ranger got really close, to the point where one of the rhinos considered us a threat and started charging.  Did not know you could put a jeep into reverse that quickly...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was our fourth trip to Cape Town (including a trip pre-Mozambique).  It remains a captivating city for both of us.  

 

 

 

We had planned this trip around whale migration season and spent quality time at a well-known town for whale sightings and at a nature reserve with great hiking and whale-watching opportunities.  

 

 

 

 

 



Kayaking with the whales

 



De Hoop Nature Reserve- incredible scenery, great
hiking and more whale watching.-

 
 

 

 

Of course we did not forget the wine country.    

 

     

 

 

 

 





Quirks and Contradictions

 

Mozambique has often felt like an amalgamation of anomalies and contradictions (say that ten times fast).  Some reflect the disconnect between past and present  - the American Martin Luther King Cultural Center sits at the intersection of Kim Il Sung and Mao Tse Tung.  Some are obvious and reflect economic and urban/rural differences.  Some are unique to the culture. The people are gentle and friendly but LOUD.  I doubt if the word “whisper” exists in the local languages.  Conversations, both face to face and cell phone, are carried on at decibel levels that would be illegal in most US jurisdictions.  The beach areas rotate among religious groups holding services and baptisms and groups of people drinking beer and blasting their car radios.  It is a country of vast distances and open spaces but on a personal level the goal seems to be to get as close to the next person as possible.  There are eight treadmills at the gym we use.  I usually use one at the end and am generally the only person there.  If another person comes in 99.9% of the time they will get on the treadmill next to me.  Seven possible choices, only one of which involves immediate proximity…    Or when I am out walking on the Marginal, a road/path that follows the water, I will see someone sitting on the wall in the distance.  They wait, wait, wait, wait until I am about to pass and then ……. up like a shot. 

The country has vast resources and much wealth in the extractive industries but has been downgraded on the UN Human Development Index during our time here.  The President has been building a palace since our arrival, his wife and daughter are among the richest women in Africa, and all the ministers get new cars every year.  But the schools have no books, health care resources are scarce, and sanitation and water very limited. 

Mozambique has strong ties to South Africa to the point where it has opted to be in the same time zone even though all other countries at this longitude operate an hour later.  That is why the sun comes up at 4:30 a.m. and sets at 6 p.m.  My circadian rhythms do not mesh.  I wake up with the sun but I am not happy about it.  The closest large town over the border developed as a rural center surrounded by orange groves; it now seems to exist primarily to service as a shopping center for wealthy Mozambicans and expats.  Another example of the country’s $$$$ benefitting others.

This is country where even Portuguese, although the official, is often a second language for many people.  Education is minimal and the life expectancy is in the low 50’s.  (When I tell someone I am 61 years they look like they have seen a ghost – literally).  Day to day existence can be challenging; fetching water and firewood are common tasks even in the bairros of Maputo.  In that context, what can seem as an utter lack of common sense…actually makes sense.  The wheel is reinvented daily.  Who thinks they need a wheel tomorrow?  Case in point is the road construction that has yet to finish.  As promised, here is the saga of

How to Build a Road in Maputo

1.      Set a start date; generate lots of publicity; put up billboard announcing start date.

2.      Don’t start.

3.      Six months later, begin digging up existing road.  Only two backhoes and four guys with shovels allowed to work.  All other workers only allowed to observe.

4.      Cross out start date on billboard and write in new date.

5.      Create as much dirt and chaos as possible, then stop work.

6.      Wait two months, hire new contractor.  Make sure to let them start work early so all residents can wake up knowing work has resumed.

7.      Grade road, wait for rain and lots of traffic to create washboard effect.

8.      Regrade; again wait for rain and lots of traffic.

9.      Re-regrade, wait for rain and lots of traffic.

10.   Pour sidewalks.

11.   Jack-hammer and chisel sidewalks to install curb pavers.

12.   Patch spaces on sidewalks created by jackhammers and chisels.

13.   Pave road, ensure cars have access before drying to create tire tracks in cement.

14.   Trim and spackle curb pavers to meet paved road.

15.   Jackhammer and chisel sidewalk to install sewer drains.  Make sure the openings do not match any standard size lid cover!

16.   Repave.

17.   Send two guys into the sewers to chisel out the pavement that fell in.

18.   DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, cover sewer drain openings.  It makes for challenging walking, especially when it is dark.

19.   Wait for heavy rains to see how much flooding occurs.

20.   Cut and chisel paved road along curb to actually create a slope to let water drain.  Make sure you put all those concrete pieces on the sidewalk to prohibit any pedestrian activity.

21.   Wait a sufficient amount of time until everyone is trained to walk in the street. 

22.   Remove concrete, custom make manhole covers (only one at a time!). 

23.   Clean out all the garbage and trash that has collected in the drains before installing covers.

24.   Review.

25.   Oh, wait, there is a twenty foot section that was never done.  Really, we can’t allow anyone to get all the way from Point A to Point B on a paved surface.

26.   Go back to Step 1.

In fairness to the Mozambicans, the first contractor was South African, the second Portuguese.  Colonials don’t always do it better.  The work continues further on but at least we can now get to Peace Corps and the Embassy either by paved road (Carl – 1 km) or paved sidewalk (Pam – 2Km).

 

We also celebrated our 37the wedding anniversary on September 11^th (whoever thought that date would be memorable?).  Carl was travelling and had dinner with Peace Corps volunteers.  I came home and watched a movie about the holocaust and drank half a bottle of wine.  And people wonder how we have managed to stay together so long.

 

Lessons learned?

Lower your expectations.  You can only be pleasantly surprised.

Keep a sense of humor.

Don’t drink the water.

Keep a sense of humor.

Carpe diem (and I don’t mean just buying all the broccoli you can find).

Keep a sense of humor.

The two of us can still get along.

Keep a sense of humor…

 

CIAO, CIAO Mozambique!

 

Madagascar (not the movie)

 

 

Continuing the trek through our bucket list of travel destinations - with priority given to places we will likely never have the time, money or energy to do in the future - we recently spent two weeks in Madagascar. The movies not withstanding, it is one of those places everyone has heard of but nobody really knows anything about - which is why we went there.  It is a fabulously unique island with endemic flora and fauna not seen elsewhere is the world; an amalgam of geological, geographic, ethnic and cultural histories that are not so much a blend as a series of overlays with varying degrees of concentrations.  The island was once part of the large supercontinent, Gondwana, which included most of the southern hemisphere, which continued to separate until ultimately Madagascar broke from East Africa. The result is a geographically isolated island on which many species of animals and plants flourish; notably lemurs (not found anywhere else in the world), baobab trees (only two species found elsewhere - one in Africa and one in Australia), a variety of chameleons; unique plants; and several climate zones.

Other notable features are the people and the food. The Malagasy are a rainbow of polished earth tones from Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian and African roots.  And despite colonial rule by both the British and the French, a notable absence of white.  Unlike so many African countries, they are unified in a common language - Malagasy - despite tribal origins which are still recognized.  The language is agglutinative which essentially means as "stringing together as many grammatical units as possible".  A single word can have multiple prefixes, suffixes stuffed with linguistic units in between.  One word can be longer than our entire alphabet.

And the food!  The food reflects not only the above but is where the French seemed to have some lasting influence. Rice, however, is a staple at every meal for the Malagasy and rice fields are found in every nook and cranny of the capitol as well as open rural spaces.  Most plots are family-owned subsistence plantings.  The best rice is exported.

The zebu, a cattle-like creature,
is ubiquitous. 
In the countryside populations zebu serve as banks: money is invested in the purchase of a zebu and wealth is measured by the number of zebu owned. Ironically it is both a beast of burden and a sacrificial animal.  On the practical side, once sacrificed, it is eaten.


The planning logistics took longer than the actual vacation.  There are only a handful of tarred roads, distances are long and in-country flights served only by one airline: Madagascar Air, more appropriately known as "Mad Air".  Of our five flights only one took off on time; the others were from two - twelve hours late.  We used a local tour company and drivers, a must unless you have unlimited amounts of time and patience it.  So...by air, boat and four wheel drive, here is the quick and dirty of our two week tour;

Flight from the capital, Antananaviro ("Tana" to you laymen - and that would include me) to Morondavo a decent size town on the west coast. Start initial leg of two day travel to the Tsingy via Baobab Allee, Kirindy State Park, ferry across the river to overnight in Belo Sur de Tsiribihina, and and onward to two days hiking the Petit and Grand Tsingy.  Needless to say, no crowds at the Tsingy.






There are 7 babobob species in the world.  All
7 are found on Madagascar.  One of the seven
is found in parts of Africa; one is found in
Australia.

 

Kirindy Reserve is known for its abundant wildlife. We were able to see four species of lemur - Rufus Brown, Red-fronted Brown, Virreaux Sifaka and the elusive Mouse, pictured below.

 



Onward to Belo Sur, a town I believe exists only because it is the end point of so-called ferry.  It was, however, a beautiful hour or so ride down the river.  Belo is a rather bustling one dirt road town.  This was one of our "Peace Corps" stays; cold water and edible food, no electricity after 7 pm and bad wine (but cold beer and foosball).

Up and out the next morning for the arduous drive to Tsingy De Bemaraha, a road best characterized as sand tracks from zebu-pulled carts.  Landmarks are a grass hut ... or a grass hut.  This part of the country looked quintessentially sub-Saharan African: black population, cane houses, and very arid. 

The Tsingy are limestone formations that were created by seismic shifts, first being underwater then pushed upwards.  The sharp peaks were created by acid rain and erosion.  A Frenchman created a "path" through by attaching steps of stone with pitons to the sides of the rocks.  Steps = a place to balance the ball of your foot, hence the need for harnesses.  It was an unparalleled experience and despite the time and effort required to reach it, well worth it.  Over, under, around, etc.

  



 











Retraced our journey back through Belo Sur (where we had one of the best of the meals of our entire trip (who would have thought!) while waiting for the ferry - to Tana where we immediately got into a car for the drive south, minus two hours in rush hour traffic to an electronics store to purchase a camera battery (I will refrain from pointing any fingers at who packed the camera).  A quick overnight in Antsirabe, unmemorable except for the fact that it was close to freezing and there were no blankets or heat - almost enough to qualify for a Peace Corps experience, except the hotel did have hot water - and on to Ranomafana for more hiking and lemur sightings.  We also happened on the equivalent of a county fair in the local village.  The ring toss was over bottles of soda and beer (beer being the big prize) and the game of chance employed a bicycle tire as the spinner.  And there was a local wine tasting.  We bought some - and are now using it as cooking wine.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                  

 Ranomafana is mid-altitude rainforest and home to twelve species of lemur.  While we were able to see four (Golden, Greater bamboo, Red-fronted brown and Mouse) picture proof was hard to come by due to the density of the foliage.  We also had a guide who prided himself on going off-trail.  Guides are preceded by "spotters", young men who search for lemurs and other wildlife.  They are very good - and they have cool t-shirts.

 

On to National Park #4 - Isalo, a polar opposite from where we had just been: sandstone rocks and canyons, dry plains, and hot days!

 

There are extraordinary rock formations, similar to the Red Rocks area of Arizona.  However, there are also deep canyons that are almost tropical with small sand beaches and lush vegetation.  Some lemurs, though not the primary attraction and great hiking.  The hotel was world-class: gorgeous setting, French-trained chef, homemade ginger rum and only four guests.  A true indulgence and we were duly grateful: hot water, electricity, blankets AND good food and wine. 

Carl and our intrepid guides.  Ironically, the "darkest" was
most worried about the desert sun - hence the umbrella hat.
To the credit of Madagascar, tourism in the national parks
is tightly controlled.  The public cannot just wander in.  A
local guide must be hired at each site which both helps protect the
environment and provides local employment.  And these guides
were really good!  They need to take an exam and at most
parks there was at least one guide conversant in your language of choice.

 

 

Lunch by a river in one of the canyons and map of the park trails
(WARNING! Trails are actually longer than they may appear)





 

                                                                          

*One month, one week, two hours and counting...and I am not talking about how long it takes to create an island but how long it takes to create a blog.  I am investing one more hour and then it is what it is.  If you would like to see the rest of the 535 pictures you will just have to wait...

Continuing west, we drove to Tulear to catch a flight back to
Tana, stopping at an open air paper-making factory,
a small silk factory and a community-owned park,
Anja, developed by the local people to gain
income and home to many Ring-tailed lemur.  

What was to be a two day trip to yet another national Park at Andisabe became a one-day trip thanks to the timing - or lack thereof- of Mad Air.  Andisabe is home to the Giant Sifaka Lemur.  We also got in a quick stop at a family-operated chameleon farm.

 

 



 Random photo gallery:

 

Tana Tour - old Royal Palace and new Royal Palace built by French

 

 





 Lifestyles and architecture

 

 

 

 



 

Lemurs!

 



 

 

 

 

 

Tombs



Many tribes have strong belief in an afterlife and bury  their dead in large tombs that essentially are small houses.  In some parts of the country these were elaborately decorated, in other places less fanciful.  Each tomb "house" = one person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the home front - we are being invaded by "birds".  And I use "birds" in a very loose sense of the word.  These are massive creatures which actually make one believe that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.  They have taken to roosting on the beams of our verandah and leave droppings the size of cow pies. I have even seen small bones remains - really!  When home, I attack with a broom and primeval screams, but they find their mark when I am not there playing defense.  The security personnel have it wrong: we don't need electric fences and barbed wire to protect us from people; we need it to protect us from "The Birds".





So, off into the sunset I go until the Mozambican internet gods deem we meet again.





Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

Mozambican Construction: How to build a road in 100 easy steps!